


Feel The Beat From The Tamborine

by CaptainLeBubbles



Series: The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [10]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Birthday Party, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, everyone is thirsty for hazel, hints of Malachite twin/Winter, mercury is a good dancer, whitley's there for like three lines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23282749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles
Summary: Winter is turning seventeen! What a nice time for a party with her loved ones.
Relationships: James Ironwood & Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen/James Ironwood, Winter Schnee & Mercury Black
Series: The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1200967
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	Feel The Beat From The Tamborine

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure, guys, I cobbled this together from like three lines I had nowhere to shove because I just flat out didn't want to write the short that originally came next in the sequence. So this is not so much a singular plot as a couple scenes that I'd wanted to write and never got the chance/got around to.

-/-

In all honesty, Mercury wasn’t expecting to get invited to Winter’s seventeenth birthday party. Not because they weren’t close anymore— in fact, between Winter driving up to Argus anytime her family got to be too much for her, and Hazel’s budding friendship with Whitney, Mercury almost felt like he saw her more now than when they lived across the road from each other.

No, in fact, he mostly just didn’t realize she was planning to have a birthday party. She seemed too classy for the cake and balloons sort of thing. He said as much when she called him.

“A girl only turns seventeen once in her life,” she said. “I thought it might be nice to celebrate my birthday properly.”

“That’s true of any age, though,” he pointed out. “Does this have anything to do with your folks?”

“Mmm… maybe a bit. I feel like I am in a new part of my life, one in which a birthday party doesn’t feel like a chance for my parents to argue.”

“Man, your folks suck. I know I’ve said it before—“

“It’s fine. It’s true. So you’ll be there? We’ve rented the ballroom level at Beacon Tower, and the dresscode is semiformal. And I expect you to save me a dance.”

Mercury snorted. “Listen, princess, I know I’m cute enough to make even the biggest lesbian this side of Vacuo question her sexuality, but I’m just not into you like that.”

“I’m the biggest lesbian either side of Vacuo,” she sniffed. “And I don’t mean in a romantic sense. You’re my friend. I know you’re a good dancer. I would like to dance with you.”

“All right, all right, twist my arm why don’t you? Yeah, okay, we can have a dance.” He paused, because Emerald had come in the room at the tail end and said something inaudible. He snorted. “Em says she wants a dance with you too.”

“Ah. I. Um. Would find that very acceptable.”

“Jesus, princess, chill. I know pretty girls are like Kryptonite for you but it’s just Emerald.”

(In the background, a ‘Hey!’ Followed by a thump as if something had been thrown at him, and a cackle in response. Winter didn’t bother suppressing her amused grin.)

-/-

The party was in fact a dinner party that would be followed by mingling and dancing afterward. James and Qrow, along with Penny and Nora, were greeted at the door by Whitley, dressed to the nines for the occasion. He bowed low, and guided them to their seats at one of the many tables encircling the room. No sooner had they sat down than the girls hurried off to find their friends.

“Aren’t you being a little gentleman today,” Qrow teased, tracking the girls across the room just enough to note where they were.

“Winter promised to take me to H2Whoah That Was Fun if I helped out with her host duties. Here are your seats— I have to go back to greeting. It looks like Mr. Rainart and his stray kittens have arrived.”

There was a certain… something, to Whitley’s tone when he mentioned Hazel and the kids, but by the time he’d reached the door he’d plastered on his best good-little-gentleman face. Qrow followed his movements until his eyes landed on the enormous figure in the doorway, Mercury and Emerald alongside.

“Hachi machi,” he breathed, eyes moving down and then up, up, up, his eyebrows telling a story. He turned back to James.  _ “That’s _ Hazel?”

“That’s Hazel,” James confirmed, amusement lacing his tone.

Qrow buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath. “Is it wrong of me to tell my boyfriend his new bff is hot?”

“Only if it’s wrong for your boyfriend to agree with you.”

Qrow chuckled, and caught James’ tie, tugging him down just enough to steal a kiss. “Get you a man who has the same taste in men you do, so you can admire hot men together,” he teased. “But that’s a lotta man to admire. How is he single? You’d think he’d have to fight off… well whatever he’s into, with a stick.”

“He dates. Pretty regularly too, to hear Emerald talk about it. He just hasn’t really clicked well enough to go beyond the first few dates.”

“Now  _ that’s _ interesting. Not the dating thing, the Emerald thing.” He glanced down the semicircle of tables, where Hazel and the children had been seated a reasonable distance from James and Qrow. Thoughtful of Winter, but not so great for Qrow, who was itching to find out how the kid was doing, and if Mercury had found a way to forgive him yet.

...well, if Winter had felt the need to sit them so far apart, that answered that question, actually.

-/-

By the time dessert had been served, people were beginning to drift from the tables, and the waitstaff Winter had hired had begun to clear away the tables. Winter looked over her guests, satisfied that everyone seemed to be having a pleasant time, and then startled when Mercury appeared at her side.

“Well, dancing queen?” He winked, and bowed, one hand held out in invitation. “May I have this dance?”

She brightened. “Yes, of course,” and then frowned as his words caught her. “Wait, you didn’t request Dancing Queen for this, did you?”

“Of course not, don’t be stupid.” He took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor, giving her a spin just for fun as he did. “That’s for later. I’d never be caught dead dancing to ABBA.”

No sooner had he said that than the light instrumental at the start of the song ended and the singing began.

“I was sick and tired of everything—“

She gave him an knowing look. “You were saying?”

“This  _ isn’t _ ABBA. This is the ensemble cast of Mamma Mia Here We Go Again. Completely different.”

“You’re a rat, you know that?”

“And am.” He spun her again, swapping into a more playful step now that the tempo had picked up. “Come on, it’s a good song.”

“It’s a bit… silly.”

“That’s the point, dancing queen.”

“Hmm. Is that my name now?”

“Well, you are the dancing queen now… young and sweet… only seventeen…” He laughed, and then yelped when he found himself the one being spun, and then laughed again. “It’s Friday night... lights are low-”

-/-

From his table, James watched Winter on the dance floor. She’d gone through a few partners a this point, and was now dancing in a cluster with Emerald, Mercury, and her friend Vernal— even as he looked on, one of the Malachite twins (the one in white) caught her attention and bowed, sweeping her away into a dance of their own.

Even from this distance he could see the deer in the headlights look in her eye, and buried a laugh in his drink.

There was movement beside him. He looked up to see Whitney settling into Qrow’s abandoned seat.

“She seems to be enjoying her party,” he said.

“I certainly hope so. I want her to have at least one good one before she’s eighteen.” She rested her head on one hand and watched her daughter slow-dancing with whichever Malachite she was with. “Do you think she’ll be all right?”

“Oh yes, she’ll be fine. She’s got a long road ahead of her, but she’ll come out the other end whole.”

“No thanks to me.”

“Maybe,” he agreed. “But you found your way through in the end. And don’t forget, you were as much a victim of Jacques’ mistreatment as those children. The lengths you had to go through just to free yourself, so you  _ could _ free your children, that’s nothing to sneeze at.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“It’s the truth.” He set his drink down and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance?”

She frowned. “Are you sure that would be all right?”

“Why wouldn’t it? Because I’m attached?” He nodded out over the dance floor. “It’s not like I’m gay and couldn’t be mistaken for interested in a woman at all anyway— not to mention my boyfriend appears to have abandoned me for a man he recently declared incredibly attractive. If it’s not a problem for  _ him, _ why should it be a problem for me? I’d just like to dance with a friend.”

“...Oh. I suppose in a relationship built on trust, dancing with other partners isn’t something to worry about. All right. I think I will dance with you.”

-/-

**Author's Note:**

> [Qrow seeing Hazel for the first time](https://66.media.tumblr.com/b0e06f777b56c794d761e5edc69bdb8e/tumblr_p25ihdZ7vu1wjldfvo2_500.gifv) ([source](https://grifalinas.tumblr.com/post/611225339497250816/celtic-pyro-taken-out-of-context-these-gifs))
> 
> Torchwick also changed Winter's nickname to dancing queen after her birthday. When Mercury found out he was furious. How dare Torchwick go for the same low-hanging fruit he did.


End file.
